Burden
by Cheeseburger of Doom
Summary: [Warlords 11, AkuDan prequel] He really wanted to save the little bird, but it died anyway.


A/N: I'm not a very big fan of AkuDan, because I find it somewhat disturbing. I like Dan better than Akutsu, which is unusual for me. Usually I like the strong bastard types...So, given those two factors, it is an odd thing for me to be writing something that is somewhat AkuDan...and odd also that I killed off poor Dan-chan instead of Akutsu (as mentioned in Warlords #1 and #4).This is the story that explains what happened to them.

Warnings: Characater death(s) (I just gave that much away), much angst, immoral stuff, AU, interesting interpretation of characters, and general weirdness (it is me, after all)...etc. etc.

Warlords #11:

Burden

Dan Taichi was incredibly annoying. He pestered Akutsu day and night with his endless cheerful smiles and endlessly cheerful voice. For some reason, he'd decided that Akutsu was his mentor, the one he respected the most; and he wouldn't leave Akutsu alone.

All Akutsu Jin wanted was to be left alone. He liked being in the gang. He liked the rough life, he liked the stealing, he liked the fighting. Everything about this life appealed to him -- except for Dan Taichi, the annoying little kid.

It started when Akutsu was fifteen. By that time, he was already a well-established fighter, and everyone in his gang knew enough to leave him to his own devices. Even the leader was a little bit afraid of him.

He'd never spoken to Dan Taichi at that point, not even once. The cute kid was around, and of course he knew Dan was there; he just chose to ignore his presence. The kid was not going to last in the gang. Somehow, he had managed to remain sweet and innocent; he would die in his first fight, after about two seconds. The leader kept him out of the fights most of the time, because he was too weak. The guy probably had a soft spot for the cute kid, just like everyone else (except Akutsu) had.

That day, though, the leader had to include him in the fight. They were running out of people. All of the gangs were becoming smaller and smaller, and everyone old enough could not be spared.

Dan Taichi was completely terrified going into that fight. Akutsu only noticed because Dan happened to be riding beside him, and when he glanced over, he could see the boy shaking. Akutsu didn't care, though. It was all the kid's fault for not getting tough -- or maybe the leader's fault for trying to keep him soft.

Dan Taichi would not have lasted for two seconds if it had not been for Akutsu. Akutsu cared little for the kid, but he had a feeling that the leader would reward anyone who saved his precious Dan -- and he was right there when Dan fell, so it would be very easy. He scooped the boy up, and protected him for the rest of the fight.

He was rewarded for his efforts very well, later -- but he also gained an admirer. Dan looked at him with wide, shining, happy eyes that night, and thanked Akutsu for saving his life.

Akutsu brushed him off, as he brushed off everyone; but Dan did not get the message. He did not understand that Akutsu had saved him for his own purposes. He thought that Akutsu was some sort of hero.

After that, Dan never left him alone.

After that, Akutsu never let Dan get hurt again, no matter what. He did it for the reward. At least, that was what he kept telling himself.

It irked him. He could not help but look out for the kid in a fight. He was just so helpless, so hopeless. Why did he care if the kid died or not? He didn't know.

-----

"I want to be tough like you one day," Dan said. He was sitting on a pile of crates in Akutsu's room. His legs weren't even long enough to reach the floor, and he was kicking them back and forth. He looked like a little kid. He was almost fourteen years old though, an adult by gang-standards and he was still innocent, somehow.

Akutsu knew that it was his fault by now. The former leader was gone, and the one that kept Dan's hands from being stained with blood was none other than himself. He couldn't help it though, for some reason. Oh, it pissed him off just thinking about it!

"You'll never be tough," Akutsu said. It was the truth. Even if Akutsu stopped protecting him, the kid would just die.

"I don't want you to have to look out for me forever, though. I want to pull my own weight in the gang," Dan said earnestly. "I want to help you out, sometimes."

That made Akutsu laugh. It was a hollow laugh, the only kind he knew. Dan frowned at him.

"I really do want to help you!"

"Kid...you'll never be able to help anyone. You're too weak."

Dan bit his lower lip. "I..."

Akutsu hated it when the kid looked like he was about to cry. He never knew what to do when the kid was crying; he was not the type to give out comfort, but those little sobbing noises were so pathetic that he just wanted them to stop.

"You're too innocent. You're different from the rest of us. You'll never be like me," Akutsu said. He was angry at himself for even bothering to say that much.

"I'm sorry that I'm such a burden, Akutsu."

Akutsu just snorted. "Whatever."

The look Dan gave him was almost hopeful. Akutsu wanted to tell him that yes, he was a huge burden, and that he would feel a lot better if Dan just got out of his way and died...except those words wouldn't leave his lips.

Let the kid have some hope. Let him think that Akutsu gave a damn. It wasn't the truth, but at least he wouldn't cry.

-----

"Akutsu, Akutsu look!"

Akutsu's eye twitched with anger. What the hell did the damn kid want now? "What?" he demanded irritably. Bad enough that Dan was following him, but to keep interrupting the silence every five seconds with that damn cheerful voice...

"It's some kind of animal."

There were not many animals around these parts, except dead ones. This bird was injured, but not dead.

"Just leave it," Akutsu said. "It will die eventually anyway."

"It's hurt. I want to help it."

"Help it what? Make it better so it can fly away?" Akutsu laughed. "How the hell do you plan to do that?"

Dan looked up at him angrily, cradling the injured bird to his chest. "I don't know, but I want to try."

"You care too much about things that don't matter," Akutsu stated. "That's your main weakness, kid."

"I don't care."

"Do what you want, kid, but when it dies, don't come crying to me."

"I promise I won't."

Dan carried the bird home in silence. Akutsu should have been glad that he'd finally shut up, but for some reason, he wasn't.

-----

Akutsu half-expected Dan to be able to heal the little bird. It wasn't that badly hurt, after all, and with some care it might even get better. When he passed Dan's room, and saw him inside, sniffling, he knew that Dan had failed.

He poked his head in. "I told you it would die," he said.

Dan nodded. "I know. I wanted to try, though."

"Everything dies a lot sooner around here. Don't bother crying over it."

"I'll feel better if I cry for a little while," Dan said.

Akutsu just couldn't understand how the kid could remain so innocent and so caring in the world they lived in. He'd never been like that in his life.

"Suit yourself."

"Thanks for trying to comfort me, though," Dan said. Akutsu froze.

"I wasn't. I was just stating the facts."

"Yeah, I know. Thanks anyway."

He was going to have to do something about that kid, someday. He was really getting on Akutsu's nerves.

-----

Akutsu was a good fighter, but three on one was just a little much, even for him; especially when those three belonged to Atobe's gang. They were pretty fierce.

Akutsu hated losing. Actually, he'd never lost; but he was discovering that losing was not very much fun.

"No!"

Just as one of his attackers was about to knife him in the gut, Dan Taichi threw himself in the way, and knocked the knife out of the man's hands. Akutsu stared in surprise. There was no way that stupid kid could have done that! It must have been a fluke of some kind.

It turned out that he was right.

"Kabaji, kill him," one of the attackers ordered. From the sound of it, he was the leader of the gang.

The big man advanced on little Dan Taichi, and plunged the knife into his little chest. Akutsu tried to stop him, but he was knocked out of the way by the third attacker.

For the past year, Dan Taichi had been pestering Akutsu endlessly. Now, the cute kid was silent. He would be innocent no longer. He smiled up at Akutsu from the ground.

"I finally helped you," he said.

"Stupid kid," Akutsu hissed.

"I'm cold," said Dan. "Help me..."

It was too late for him to be helped. He looked just like the little bird he'd tried so hard to heal. Pathetic and weak.

Akutsu went crazy. He attacked the three men in a frenzy. He still could not win against three, though. He was knocked unconscious before long.

-----

When Akutsu came to, he was staring up at the leader of his gang. There was a knife wound in his chest.

"You failed to save him this time," he said. "I...I wish I had gotten here sooner..." He coughed up blood. "Well, I guess I'll see the kid in the afterlife, anyway." The man dropped, and his corpse landed on Akutsu. He pushed the lifeless body away, and got to his feet.

He would always remember the man who had killed Dan Taichi. One day, they would meet again. Then Akutsu would kill him.

-----

Soon after, Inui became the leader of the gang. He tried to change things around. He was a pacifist, and their gang fought as little as possible. Akutsu had to wait for a long time for his revenge. He could have just killed Inui and become the leader himself -- but part of him protested, _what would Dan have thought of that? _He wouldn't have approved of revenge in the first place, but...Dan had always liked Inui.

When Inui died and Hiyoshi became leader, Akutsu saw his chance. Hiyoshi was a stupid leader, and soon, the entire gang was dead, except for Akutsu. He was his own gang, now.

The time for revenge had come.

He set out to find Atobe, and the man he'd ordered to kill a sweet, innocent little kid. A kid that Akutsu hadn't been able to hate.

A kid that he might even have cared about.


End file.
